“I was nervous,” said Stoudemire, who came off the bench for the first time since Nov. 4, 2006. “My heart was beating fast. I had butterflies in my stomach. I felt like a rookie again.”

He was kind of rushing a little bit, but you expect that,” Woodson added. “He’ll be fine. We’ll get him back to the old Amar’e.”

Now, Felton isn’t expected to return until next month, and the hope is that Stoudemire, who made his season debut in a 105-100 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers Tuesday night at the Garden, will be back to being himself sooner rather than later.

The same can be said of the Knicks.

“It’s always a tough adjustment,” Tyson Chandler said after the Knicks lost for the third time in four games. “You get accustomed to certain things and then things change. We know we’re a better team with these guys. We just have to find a way for us all to be in rhythm.”

The Knicks (21-10) struggled with their revamped lineup, falling behind by 19 in the first half before their furious rally fell short when Carmelo Anthony missed a three-point try with 15.9 seconds left that would have tied the game. Anthony scored 45 points after sitting out two games with a sore left knee.